My sister briefly mentioned this article in the NYTimes about the home of Mr. Antonson in Brooklyn. I have wanted to blog about it ever since because it really struck me, the beauty in the unexpected.

In the photograph above, Mr. Antonson has been collecting orphaned gloves for years. In December, he paired them and framed them, noting the dates and locations where they were found. How absolutely brilliant and simple and beautiful is this? The innocence of it is so striking. Who amongst us has not seen an child’s mitten lying on the sidewalk? Or a sock? Or even a shoe? I know I have seen so many, and often wondered if the mom went home and when she found just one mitten, did she retrace her steps, did she search for hours on end for the other mitten? But I have never, ever thought about collecting them and making them into a beautiful collection of art. Mr. Antonson, I admire how you saw the beauty in the unexpected. It makes my heart happy.

I think children have this innate ability to ‘see’ like Mr. Antonson. When I used to pick out my daughter’s clothes, everything was always perfectly matched, down to her socks and shoes. Now, she has a mind of her own, and she combines several prints and colours, summer dresses and faux fur coats, necklaces and stick on earrings. Oh how I look forward to seeing what she has picked out for the day. Mismatched perfection. Unexpected beauty.

xoxo, Rashmi